Paige Bueckers’ Triumphant Return: How the UConn Phenom’s Record-Breaking Performance Is Redefining Women’s College Basketball

Paige Bueckers may have traded her UConn jersey for pro-day gear, but the superstar guard is still shaping headlines as March Madness collides with WNBA Draft season. The 24-year-old spent Thursday perched beside Geno Auriemma at the Huskies’ Sweet 16 practice, “yapping the whole time,” according to senior sharpshooter Azzi Fudd — a reunion that instantly reignited speculation that the former back-court duo could be reunited in Dallas next month. Bueckers, who went No. 1 overall to the Wings in 2025, averaged 16.9 points and 5.4 assists as a rookie despite a minutes restriction that followed two knee surgeries. Dallas again owns the top selection on April 13, and every mock draft has Fudd slotted first. The thought of pairing Bueckers’ surgical playmaking with Fudd’s 45-percent three-point clip has Wings fans dreaming of an instant title chase and marketers salivating over a potential “TikTok back-court” that already boasts 4 million combined followers. Money adds another wrinkle: a new CBA means the 2026 No. 1 pick will earn roughly six times more than Bueckers’ rookie-scale salary, vaulting Fudd’s projected four-year deal past $2 million in guaranteed cash. Insiders say Dallas could leverage that cap jump to extend Bueckers long-term while still keeping room for a veteran rim protector in free agency. Back in Fort Worth, Bueckers’ presence wasn’t just symbolic hype. Senior forward Aaliyah Edwards called her “an extra coach,” noting that Bueckers broke down North Carolina’s hedging schemes during film and even diagrammed an out-of-bounds set that UConn used for a buzzer-beating three in shoot-around. Auriemma added that his former floor general “still sees the game two frames ahead of everyone else,” a skill Dallas believes will translate to WNBA pacing once her minute cap is lifted. What’s next? Bueckers returns to Phoenix this weekend to finish workouts with skills trainer Drew Hanlen, then heads to New York for draft-week media obligations. Sources tell The Sporting News she will scrimmage privately with Fudd and projected lottery pick Angel Reese at an undisclosed Manhattan gym on April 10, a session expected to draw multiple league GMs. For now, Bueckers remains the tournament’s most talked-about spectator, her courtside grin reminding fans why she was once dubbed “Paige Buckets.” If the Wings land Fudd as expected, the franchise that already flipped its trajectory with one Minnesota phenom may soon double down on the blueprint — and the rest of the WNBA will have to solve a pick-and-pop puzzle forged in Storrs.